100th anniversary of the death of Andrej Kmeť

200 Sk commemorative silver coin

Andrej Kmeť (19. 11. 1841 – 16. 2. 1908) – priest, patriot and amateur scientist – botanist, archaeologist, ethnographer and museum scientist, was one of the last polyhistorians in Slovak national history. He was one of the leading representatives and organizers of scientific and cultural life, and is regarded as the founder of museum collecting in Slovakia.

He initiated the establishment of the Slovak Museum Society at Turčiansky Sv. Martin in 1893 and served as its first chairman until the end of his life. He rendered outstanding services in the process of building the Slovak National Museum at Turčiansky Sv. Martin in 1906 – 1907, and donated to the museum his extensive collections. The most valuable include a herbarium with more than 77,000 specimens, and bone remnants of a mammoth. He was the author of a large number of popular and specialist articles and books. He was interested in ethnography, folklore and Slovak folk art, which he also promoted abroad. He achieved his greatest successes in botany, and discovered various plants, which bear his name. He was a member of several domestic and international scientific societies.